Watchmakers&#39; oiler



061;. 11, 1955 J oss ETAL WATCHMAKERS OILER Filed July 7, 1950 Jams 11.11083 James Hf 41 ATTORNEY United tate ar 2,720,343 WATCHMAKE RjS OILER James H. Ross, White Bluff, and James H. Cannack,

Nashville, Tenn a Application July 7, 19s0, sei-ia1i1b. 172,484

4 Claims. 01. 222- 209 flow, and sometimes can eliminate a blockage, by blowing into the open end of the reservoirpth e effectiveness of this crude operation is very limited. Moreover, such an operation can, and frequently does, result in contamination of the oil with water (from saliva and breath vapor) or other foreign matterfrom the mouth of the operator. Since in conventionaloilers the flow of oil is not easily controllable, it has been the custom to design them for slow rather than fast feed since a fast flow could not be slowed but a slow feed could "be increased by dipping or blowing. (Both of the se flow-increasing operations are obviously unsatisfactory, both as to accuracy and as to economy in time and effort.) Thus, the necessarily small feed-bore results in frequent clogging or partial blocking, requiring a bothersome and time-consuming cleaning operation.

Objects of the invention It is accordingly an object of our invention to provide a watchmakers oiler from which the flow of oil is easily and accurately controllable.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an oiler which has a means forming part of the oil-flow con trol that also serves to maintain the oil-feeding bore open or unclogged.

It is another object of our invention to make an oiler Figures of the drawing Fig. 1 is an elevational view of the oiler shown supported vertically in a socket-stand.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged axial cross-sectional view of the oiler.

Fig. 3 is a greatly enlarged partial cross-sectional view of the working tip of the device.

Detailed description The preferred embodiment of our oiler comprises a cylinder 1 of glass or other oil-resistant material, but preferably transparent or translucent, whereby the quantity of oil in the reservoir 20 may be readily observed. Connected to the lower end of the cylinder is member 2, preferably of metal, and provided with a reduced upper tubular portion 3 of a size to fit snugly within the lower end of the glass cylinder 1, to form a hermetic seal, as by the use of a cemented groundin, or fused connection, etc. The lower third of the member 2 is provided with an enlarged internally threaded bore 4, adapted to receive the threaded shank of the oiler tip described below. The member 2 has an axial bore 5 therethrough which narrows abruptly at 6 to form a shoulder or abutment 7 for the spring 18. p

The lower half of the head or working end of the oiler consists of a hollow tip or base member 8 having a cylindrical upper reduced extension 9 externally threaded for mating connection with the threads of bore 4 in member 2. The shoulder 10, formed by the reduced cross-section of tip 8 at extension 9, abuts the lower end of member 2. Between said. lower end of member 2 and the shoulder 10, may be interposed a washer or gasket 11 of suitable oil-resistant sealing material, such as paper, leather or soft metallic foil. The lower end of tip 8 is formed as, or has attached thereto, a small-gauge tube or needle 12, extending axially downwardly therefrom for a distance suflicient to make a convenient oil-applying point. The bore through the needle 12 is sufiiciently large to receive a very smallguage plunger-rod 13, which normally extends very slightly beyond the lower end of the needle, as shown in Figure 2. Tip 8 also has an enlarged axial bore 15 of the same size as the bore 5 in member 2. The pushrod 13 enlarges at 16 to form a valve-member, which preferably, but not necessarily, has a ground-in fit with the valve-seat 17 (see Fig. 3) formed where the bore 15 narrows near its bottom. The plunger-rod 13 continues upwardly through bores 15, 5, and 6 and terminates partway into the lower portion of the oil-reservoir 20. The plunger-rod 13 is normally forced downwardly into the position shown in Figs. 2 and 3 by the compression spring 18 compressed between bore 19 in said rod and shoulder 7 on member 2. Thus the valve 16--17 is normally closed. The push-rod 13 is made sufficiently smaller than the bores through which it passes so that the lubricating oil will flow freely therepast. At the lower end, the rod 13 is ground to form a rounded work-contacting tip or point 21, and is further ground immediately above said tip or point to form a narrowed neck-portion 22, the purpose of which will be explained below.

The upper end of the glass tube 1 is provided with a circular bead or lip 23, to serve as a retainer for the hollow rubber bulb 24. Said bulb is provided internally with a groove 25 for mating engagement with the lip 23.

The reservoir 20 carries a floating piston 26 of cork or other suitable light-weight material. This piston is provided centrally with a breather-passage 27 which is preferably lined by metallic tube 28 extending from the top surface of the piston to a point somewhat below its bottom surface.

The oiler may be supported, as shown in Fig. 1, from a stand comprising a base 30 of wood or plastic, and a vertically and centrally located glass tube 31 of a size to loosely receive the reduced-diameter end of the member 2. The tube 31 is preferably sealed at its lower end whereby it constitutes a drip-receiving receptacle.

Mode of operation The oiler may be easily and quickly filled with oil by unscrewing tip 8, partially collapsing bulb 24, immersing the open end of member 2 in oil and then releasing bulb 24. Expansion of the bulb will create a suction that will cause oil to rise and partially fill reservoir 20. Tip 8, carrying the valve mechanism 13-18, is then tightly screwed back into place. Cork piston 26 prevents flow of oil up into the rubber bulb 24, which bulb would be damaged by the oil. The downwardly extending end of tube 28 minimizes creepage of oil (by surface tension) from the'lower to the upper portion of the reservoir.

When it is desired to lubricate'a hearing or other part, the rounded end 21 of rod 13 is gently touched against the same. Generally there is sufficient oil carried on the end 21 to lubricate the part. However, if more oil is needed a gentle pressure downwardly will force rod 13 upwardly relative to the oiler, opening valve 16-17 to permit more oil to enter the bore of the needle. Upon release of the pressure a very slight pumping action occurs as part 16 moves downwardly to reengage valve-seat 17. The necked-down end 22 of the rod 13 encourages oil-drop formation on the rounded end 21 by discouraging a flow of oil upwardly around the rod.

While the invention has been herein set forth in a specific application thereof, it will be understood that it is subject to modification-and accordingly we do not limit ourselves to the exact construction and arrangement shown but may employ such changes in the construction of the parts and in the arrangements as come Within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A watchmakers oiler, comprising: a tubular oil reservoir of translucent material, and of fountain-pen size and shape for convenient manipulation; and a tubular oiler head sealing one end of said reservoir and coaxially extending downwardly therefrom; said oiler head comprising, upper and lower coaxial detachablyconnected sections, a long thin oiler tube extending coaxially from the lower end of said lower section, said coaxial sections and oiler tube having a continuous substantially straight bore therethru forming an oil conduit from said reservoir and being of enlarged diameter internally of at least one of said sections, a small-gage rod extending loosely thruout substantially the entire extent of said conduit to prevent clogging thereof and normally protruding slightly from the lower end of said oiler tube, said rod being enlarged above the upper end of said oiler tube to provide a valve portion movable to open position by a work-engaging force against the lower end of said rod, and a coil spring in the enlarged portion of said bore for normally urging said rod to valve-closing position, the upper end of said rod extending at all times into the oil reservoir to prevent clogging of said bore.

2. A watchmakers oiler according to claim 1 and in which the rod has a smooth, rounded non-scoring end and is reduced in cross-section immediately above its lower or work-engaging end whereby oil-drop formation at said end is facilitated,

3. A watchmakers oiler comprising: an open-ended tubular oil reservoir of a size and shape to be readily held between the fingers and thumb of an operators hand, a hollow rubber bulb having a mouth connected to the upper open end of said reservoir, whereby the latter may serve as a pump to fill or empty said reservoir, a smallguage oiler tube connected to the lower end of said reservoir, a light-weight movable piston in said reservoir to prevent free flow of oil between the two portions of said reservoir defined by said piston, whereby damage of said bulb by the oil is prevented, and a breather tube of small gage passing thru said piston, whereby air pressure in said reservoir portions may be equalized without movement of said piston.

4. A watchmakers oiler according to claim 3 and in which said breather tube extends from a point flush with the upper surface of said piston to a point an appreciable distance below the bottom wall of said piston, whereby flow of oil from the bottom reservoir portion to the top portion is minimized.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 11,612 Landmann Aug. 29, 1854 565,480 Maloney Aug. 11, 1896 620,066 Weissgerber Feb. 21, 1899 925,794 Aune June 22, 1909 1,230,916 Mason June 26, 1917 1,393,978 Saunders Oct. 18, 1921 2,051,572 Baker Aug. 18, 1936 2,211,595 Crowley Aug. 13, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS 247,767 Switzerland Dec. 16, 1947 

